DETROIT -- The Wayne State University men's basketball team (15-12 overall, 11-8 GLIAC) defeated tied-for-22nd-ranked Ferris State (23-7 overall, 13-6 GLIAC) 83-75 on Thursday night inside the Fieldhouse.  The Warriors have won three in a row, four of their last five and snapped an eight-game skid against the Bulldogs dating back to the same day, Feb. 27 of 2021, the final game inside the Matthaei.  WSU also bested a top-25 opponent for the first time in over seven years, No. 24 Lake Superior State on Jan. 6, 2018, and improved to 10-1 this season when playing on Thursday.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
Wayne State opened the game on an 8-2 run through the first five minutes and change.  Half of those eight points came from Jordan Briggs (Muskegon, Mich.) while Carmelo Harris (Flint, Mich. / Beecher) and Carlos Paul III (Southfield, Mich. / Cornerstone Lincoln-King [Missouri State - West Plains]) added two apiece.

Ferris State countered with a 17-4 spurt of its own that lasted nearly five minutes and put it ahead by seven, 19-12, at the 10:26 mark.  In that span, the Bulldogs converted 6-of-8 from the floor, 3-of-5 from behind the arc and 2-of-2 at the free throw line.  In that same stretch, the Warriors made just one of their eight field goal attempts.

From there until the final first half buzzer, the home team could never get closer than two (21-19, 28-26) while the visitors led by as many as eight (27-19).  Heading into the locker rooms, the hosts trailed by four, 36-32.

Second Half
Wayne State came out of the intermission with seven of the first nine points to regain a one-point advantage, 39-38.  Briggs cashed a two-pointer as well as a pair of free throws, but Harris started the scoring with a triple.

In fact, the combination of Harris and Briggs was responsible for the Warriors' initial 20 points of the second half with 11 and nine, respectively.  That 20-9 outburst gave WSU a seven-point lead (52-45) with 14:46 to go.

Wayne State's largest advantage of the night at eight (55-47) came just seconds later at the 14-minute juncture when Rob Lee, Jr. (Flint, Mich. / Beecher) cashed the first of his two three-pointers.  The Warriors would carry that lead for seven-and-a-half minutes, but Ferris State utilized a 14-4 run in the meantime to go up by two, 61-59.

Briggs then made a pair at the charity stripe and the Bulldogs' Nathan Claerbaut sank a jumper, but Lee, Jr. hit his second trey to put Wayne State ahead for good (64-63) with 4:07 to play.

In that final four minutes and seven seconds, WSU outscored FSU by seven (19-12), went 4-of-5 from the field and 10-of-10 at the free throw line.  Ferris State was just 4-of-9, 0-of-2 from long range, with only four free throw attempts (4-of-4).

TEAM STATS
The Warriors made 29 free throws (29-of-34), their most in over 13 years since a 30-of-40 output against Findlay on Jan. 14, 2012.  FSU attempted 14 shots at the charity stripe and converted 11 of them (78.6 percent)  WSU also won the rebounding battle by a handsome margin, 42-31, including 16-7 on the offensive glass.  Wayne State shot 37.7 percent (23-of-61) for the game to Ferris State's 47.5 percent (29-of-61).  The home team went 8-of-21 (38.1 percent) from deep to the visitors' 6-of-21 (28.6 percent).  The hosts also had the upper hand in points off turnovers (13-9), second-chance scoring (14-10) and fast-break points (10-5).

LEADING THE WARRIORS
Carmelo Harris needed 18 points to reach 1,000 for his career and accounted for a game-high 23.  Harris in turn became the 22nd member of Wayne State's 1,000 point club and first since Brailen Neely accomplished the feat during the 2021-22 campaign.  Harris was one of four Warriors in double-figures along with Jordan Briggs (21, career high), Carlos Paul III (18) and Rob Lee, Jr. (16).  Paul III also led the way on the glass with a game-high eight boards while Harris dished out four assists.  Defensively, Lee, Jr. came up with five steals (personal best) and Briggs tallied the squad's lone block.

LEADING THE BULLDOGS
Tyler Hamilton (18 points), Ethan Erickson (16) and Nathan Claerbaut (13) represented the three Bulldogs in double-figures.  N. Claerbaut brought down five rebounds with four blocks, Mykel Bingham notched five dimes and Deng Reng swiped a pair of steals.

UP NEXT
Wayne State will host 16th-ranked Lake Superior State (24-5 overall, 15-4 GLIAC) on Saturday at 3 p.m. for Senior Day and the 2024-25 regular-season finale.  The Warriors will honor redshirt senior Ray Williams, Jr. and graduate assistant coach Kyle Lorentzen prior to the start of play.